Zahid said any genuine effort to unite the Malay community must be built on shared ideals, not disguised attempts to revive political careers.

“We in Umno will never accept any form of secretariat that claims to unite the Malays under the guise of politics.

“We remain in Umno, and we will continue to be part of the unity government we helped establish,” he was quoted as saying at the Bagan Datuk Umno division meeting today.

Zahid is believed to be referring to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposal for a “Malay secretariat committee” to unite the Malays and restore their political power.

Announcing the formation of a loose Malay unity alliance on June 4, Mahathir said he would invite Umno members to join it in an effort to “restore Malay power” in the government.

He stressed, however, that he was not inviting Umno as a party to join the alliance.

Zahid described the secretariat’s formation as “a political move driven by the failure of a former prime minister who lost public support”.

“When someone finds that none of their party’s candidates won in the last election, and all lost their deposits, only then do they suddenly want to find a way to ‘unite the Malays’.

“And yet, it was that very person who previously divided the Malays,” he said.

He outlined Mahathir’s political journey – from leading Umno and becoming prime minister, to forming new parties after being ousted, only to lose his deposit in a recent general election -and said his attempt to form a secretariat was merely an effort to compensate for his political shortcomings.